KCBX News

Monday through Friday during Morning Edition and All Things Considered

The award-winning KCBX Newsroom works to bring you local stories that represent our Central Coast listeners and supporters.

KCBX News began covering stories in February, 2014. The first on-air newscast happened during All Things Considered on March 3, 2014. KCBX added local news content to Morning Edition in September, 2014.

In the years since, KCBX News has had local stories featured on NPR and The California Report.

Scientists are gathering in Southern California this week to consider methods for studying the cancer rates of those who live near nuclear facilities like Diablo Canyon.

The National Academy of Sciences' project is in its pilot planning phase. This week's efforts will include appointing committees, considering current data, and identifying the concerns and perceptions of key stakeholders.

While the team will be working on the project for most of the week, Thursday's meeting at UC Irvine's Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center is open to the public and can be viewed online.

Fire investigators are looking into the cause of a house fire Monday morning on Platino Lane in Arroyo Grande. Smoke from the hilltop blaze could be seen from as far away as Avila Beach, according to the Five Cities Fire Authority.

The authority's public information officer Peter Klein said the fire may have started in a lower floor game room. The home's owner tried to initially put it out with a hose after being alerted by a smoke alarm.

A total of 7 people were in the home at the time of the fire, including small children. All made it out safely, said Klein.

Gas prices are on the rise nationwide, and once again drivers on the Central Coast are paying far more than most.

As of Friday night, Drivers in San Luis Obispo County were seeing, on average, $4.11 for a gallon of regular unleaded—up more than 16 cents from a month ago. This makes it the highest metro average for the entire state.

Santa Barbara County drivers were paying the second highest rate at $4.07 a gallon.

A special session of the Santa Maria City Council drew an estimated 1200 people to the Fairpark on Thursday, ending with a 3-2 vote in favor of moving forward with the planning department's recommendation for the development of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

The session ran roughly from 3 - 11:00 p.m. with a strong protest presence against relocating the ICE office within Santa Maria.

Public support is growing for a plan to set aside a large chunk of land in San Luis Obispo County as scenic open space. It's called the Pismo Preserve, 900 acres that encompass much of the land to the northeast of Pismo Beach and Highway 101.

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County says tens of thousands of dollars in matching funds have gone a long way to help reach the project's goal.

The 19-year-old UCSB student found at the bottom of the Santa Barbara High School pool Monday morning died of an accidental drowning, according to a preliminary autopsy report.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Lt. Butch Arnoldi says the finding is pending toxicological results which usually take two weeks, and is a normal part of the investigation "when a young healthy person dies."

An Atlas V rocket is scheduled for a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Thursday, April 3. The window for launch opens at 7:46 a.m.

The rocket's payload includes a satellite for the Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. It was built by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. United Launch Alliance builds and flies the rocket.

Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander will be in charge of the launch decision.

A weak spring storm is headed toward the Central Coast Tuesday night and it appears San Luis Obispo County is poised to see the most rainfall out of this one. The northern portion of Santa Barbara County could see some measurable precipitation too.

The National Weather Service predicts less than a half an inch of rain will accumulate through Wednesday night.

Clearing skies are likely on Thursday, but a stray shower is still possible.

The city of Paso Robles offered $125,000 to settle a lawsuit by a former police officer who accused the department of traffic ticket quota system. The agreement was reached between the city and former officer Jon Tatro after opening statements of the trial concluded on March 13. The two parties signed the agreement March 20.

The music video that Lady Gaga shot at Hearst Castle was released on Saturday night during NBC's Dateline. The nearly 8 minute long piece features several shots of the castle, both pools, and it's surrounding Central Coast landscape.

The pop star didn't only make that video while at the castle. She also created a water conservation video and a piece supporting the castle itself.

Lady Gaga's popularity can really go a long way in introducing a new generation to the California landmark, according to Remar Sutton with the Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation.

Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the Central Coast on Friday and Saturday. He and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, met with teachers from the Santa Barbara Unified School District immediatly after landing at the Santa Barbara airport.

The Vice President is scheduled to attend a Democratic National Committee fundraising dinner in Montecito on Friday night. It's a gathering of just 25 people at $5000-a-plate, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department is looking into a weekend hiking incident along Cold Spring Trail that killed one person and seriously injured another.

Investigators say 22-year-old Saylor Guilliams of Ventura is recovering from two broken ankles at a Santa Barbara area hospital. She was rescued by helicopter after being spotted by a group of hikers on Monday afternoon.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to keep the rock revetments and parking lots in place at Goleta Beach Park.

The large chunks of rocks in question work to halt erosion into the parking lot and grassy areas. But local environmentalists, including the Santa Barbara Surfrider chapter, argue that studies show rock seawalls eventually work against sandy beaches, causing them to disappear.

It's now up to the California Coastal Commission to issue a permit for the park to keep everything as is.

Santa Maria's Allan Hancock College is one of just seven community colleges in California that are up for a $1 million prize, and the only one selected on the Central Coast.

The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence is handed out every two years with a finalist list of 150 schools chosen nationwide. Hancock was picked as a finalist for its success with institutional performance, improvement and equity on student retention and completion measures.

Hancock also showed high levels of access and success for minority and low-income students.

A couple of arrests were made Friday afternoon at an international peace vigil being held at the entrance to Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Longtime Central Coast peace activist Dennis Apel and Salinas-based peace activist MacGreggor Eddy were the two people taken into custody by military police, according to event organizer Bruce Gagnon with the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.

What started out as a small annual tradition at San Francisco's Exploratorium in the late 1980s, has turned into a widely recognized and good-spirited national holiday celebrating the mathematical symbol for Pi. The symbol (π) represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is roughly 3.14—however the number has been successfully carried out to more than a trillion decimal places.

It's actually a national holiday, named as such by congress back in 2009. And, this year the date takes on special significance because Pi Day (3.14) falls within Pi Month.

A major cruise ship will have to bypass Santa Barbara this week because sand is blocking the harbor entrance. The Sapphire Princess was scheduled to arrive Wednesday morning and send its tenders into the harbor full of tourists.

Harbor Operations Manager Mick Kronman says the sand is a result of the recent stormy weather and a longer-than-usual period without dredging.

The drought is playing a big role in how the village of Cambria will host the Amgen Tour of California stage 4 finish in May.

At the start of this month, leaders in Cambria put into effect mandatory water restrictions to deal with a declared water shortage emergency. At a town informational meeting Thursday night with Amgen organizers, city officials, local business owners and citizens, local concerns—including the water issue—were addressed.

An administrative law judge says the City of San Luis Obispo needs to reverse course and bring back binding arbitration for the city's police and firefighter unions.

Back in 2011, nearly 3-out-of-4 voters approved Measure B, which put an end to the arbitation practice. Voters also created the binding arbitration method back in 2000.

The judge says the city didn't follow proper procedure before putting the issue back on the ballot with Measure B. The City Council will meet in closed session this Monday to discuss options, including an appeal.